


After a long time

by NatIannera



Series: March Writing Madness - 2019 [6]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (I guess?) - Freeform, (at least a bit), Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, March Writing Madness, Minor Trigger Warning, Romance, Slow Burn, This has a long build-up, people not accepting other's choices, there are two endings, transphobic people, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 04:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18024824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatIannera/pseuds/NatIannera
Summary: Hoi zäme!I'm back, I'm late, but I'm here with a true behemoth of text.I really, really liked working on this. Ideas just kept on coming into my head, it was wonderful.So, I hope you'll enjoy it too!





	1. After a long time (Ending 1 included)

**Author's Note:**

> Hoi zäme!  
> I'm back, I'm late, but I'm here with a true behemoth of text.  
> I really, really liked working on this. Ideas just kept on coming into my head, it was wonderful.  
> So, I hope you'll enjoy it too!

As you’re wandering this empty world, you often times think back to the days of your youth, the blissful days of your training. So many things were easier back then. You had a purpose, your Masters, your Keyblade, and your friends. Out of all of your friends, two stand out more than others do.

Eraqus and Xehanort.

You and Xehanort weren’t friends per se, more acquaintances. However, Eraqus and you were quite good friends, even if took a while to get there. Because in the beginning, you and Eraqus hated each other’s guts, or at the very least, you hated his guts. Thinking back to it, you don’t even remember why you hated him so passionately. It may have had something to do with a friend of yours who didn’t take rejection in any form very well, but that’s as far as you can remember.

The point still stands that Eraqus and you didn’t start off in the best way possible, not by a long shot. You would do everything you could to make life a bit more difficult for Eraqus, which annoyed him of course. You would never back down whenever the both of you had to spar against one another, always fell on deaf ears whenever he asked you to pass something, didn’t relay him information early enough if you needed to and just were a general pain in the butt. It eventually got so far that you both were summoned by the presiding Master over your training academy, and he ordered you to always stick together and learn to work with each other. From that moment on, teachers were instructed to always sit the both of you next to each other, to always group you together for any project and to always let the both of you spar against one another.

And you hated it. You always finished your work as quickly as possible in order to get away from Eraqus, and did excessive solo-training so you wouldn’t need to train with Eraqus any longer than you needed. You even trained yourself to become faster so you could defeat Eraqus faster and end your sparring time sooner. It eventually lead to you being the fastest person in your grade, which meant that you were a great choice for any run-based games or tasks.

Eraqus, on the other hand, seemed determined to try and work everything out with you. He had no reason to hate you, but had an inkling that you had, and wanted to clear it up so everything could go back to normal. But seeing as you didn’t give him even the smallest of openings, he became increasingly frustrated with you. His opinion of you grew worse and worse, until he gave up on trying to work with you.

That was, until he saw you defend a younger student vehemently.

Later on, Eraqus learned that the younger student you defended was your cousin, who was being made fun of because they wore clothes of both genders. Although born biologically male, they liked the beauty and elegance of skirts, dresses, softer colors and different cuts of clothing as well as the hardness of suits, graphic shirts, dress shirts and darker colors. There were trainees from all different grades, some of them only months away from their Mark of Masters, who weren’t all too accepting, and relentlessly picked on them, even going so far as wanting to tear accessories off of them. You both were just passing by a bit farther away as your cousin recognized you and called you for help. Of course, you immediately saw red and charged in on those bullies, knocking one or two out, while your cousin watched you with awe and wonder. You were fast, light on your feet, proficient enough in magic and enraged, a combination strong enough to battle against six trainees, three of whom were in higher grades than you were.

Eraqus, instead of charging in and helping you, ran and called the nearest Master to end the situation. While it got you into trouble, you were also thankful to a degree, since you knew you wouldn’t have been able to defeat all of them.

The bullies payed a hefty price, and one of them was even suspended from that year’s Mark of Mastery. You cousin was transferred to another training academy, the one their older brother was enrolled as well. And Eraqus had newfound respect for you.

Even though any rational person could’ve seen that you were outnumbered, you still went ahead and protected your younger cousin. It proved to him that you couldn’t be entirely bad, that there was a good core inside of you. Said good core was also proven to him since you were controlled by rage, but no darkness was made visible. It was something Eraqus often times worried about and suspected to be inside you, but now he knew with certainty that it wasn’t possible. You were good. And that was enough for him to try it again.

You as well had your opinion regarding Eraqus challenged. For one, you weren’t friends with that particular girl anymore, for several reasons. For the other, Eraqus was smart, in a way you weren’t. You didn’t think about all the dangers when you ran to your cousin’s aid, you were simply fueled by emotion. But Eraqus recognized that the situation was too grand for the both of you and got help, preventing you and your cousin from any potential harm. You decided to re-evaluate Eraqus once again, and to form your own opinion of him this time.

This lead to the both of you being much more open during your next sparring round. Eraqus asked you how you became so fast, and you willingly indulged him. It felt completely different to your previous sparring sessions, so much that even the other trainees noticed it.

From then on, it was a bumpy ride, but it was a ride upwards. Some of your old habits slipped through every once in a while, but eventually, the both of you got past that first barrier and started to associate each other positively.

And from then on out, it was uphill non-stop.

Because the both of you were still forced to constantly work together, you spent a lot of time together. And once you moved past that first barrier and actually started to talk with each other, you got to know each other pretty quickly. Turns out Eraqus is basically a huge sweet dork, while you are a big nerd with a big heart. Those two things attract, and within the span of a few months, Eraqus and you became surprisingly close friends.

Because you were friends with Eraqus, you also got to know Xehanort and Yen Sid. And while you didn’t agree with all of Xehanort’s opinions, you could respect the mental and physical strength and endurance he had. While the two of you never became close, you always stayed on friendly terms and sometimes bonded over the dorky things Eraqus did, much to the latter’s dismay.

Yen Sid on the other hand was mostly fine, maybe a bit of an odd ball. What Yen Sid lacked in physical strength he more than made up with magical power. He had an understanding of magic you simply lacked and was years ahead of any of you. Unfortunately, Yen Sid struggled with his Keyblade and was held back for a year in order to gain proficiency. You stayed friendly acquaintances and sparred with each other from time to time.

Most teachers were pleased with the development between Eraqus and you, and soon enough the both of you were free to work and spar with whomever you wanted once again. And while you changed working- and sparring partners up quite a bit, Eraqus and you still spent a lot of time with each other.

Your friendship didn’t stagnate or die as the years passed, but stayed rather consistent. Eraqus first went to you when he needed help with a crush, and you first told Eraqus when one of your fellow trainees had asked you out on your first date. You were each other’s wingman, had countless inside jokes and played more games of chess than you cared to count. Xehanort was included many times when you hung out, just like you were included when Xehanort and Eraqus hung out. The both of you were Eraqus’ closest friends after all.

Soon enough, you felt yourself change around Eraqus. At first you thought your general attitude might’ve changed, but as you checked yourself, you came to realize it was only around Eraqus. You seemed to naturally gravitate towards him, may that be with your body of with your eyes. You noticed new things about him, things you hadn’t seen beforehand. You noticed Eraqus’ beauty, how he always brushed that one strand of hair away from his face, how he was able to contort and curve his body during a fight, how elegant and strong he looked while fighting. These feelings were nothing new to you, you had experienced them during a crush you had when you were younger. However, you valued your friendship with Eraqus too much to confess to him, so you did your best to squash these feelings down. Besides, everyone knows that romantic relationships formed during academy often don’t last very long.

As the Mark of Mastery came up, the three of you registered as a group, since the limit of a group was four people. You all first had to spar against each other, then the three of you had to team up and face a duo of Masters. Keyblade transformation were not tested during the Mark of Mastery, but instead your agility, control of powers and overall strength were tested.

Since your grade was an unusually large one, all of you had to wait for a day before the results were announced. That day of waiting was filled with anxiety for the three of you, since even the confident Xehanort couldn’t say with 100% certainty that he had passed.

Once the results were announced and the three of you knew you had passed, you started to celebrate. The entire grade started celebrating and rejoicing. No matter if you held a grudge against anyone, you would be celebrating with that person. You Master all looked down upon you with a smile, proud of you and how far all of you had come.

After the Mark of Mastery, most trainees – most new Masters – returned to their home world or were assigned a world to disguise themselves in and protect. You and Eraqus decided on traveling the worlds together. It was a dream the both of you spoke of many times, and now that you finally had the chance, you took it and realized it. Xehanort went off somewhere else, where exactly he didn’t tell either of you. But you tried your best to stay in contact.

During the year Eraqus and you traveled around, the both of you grew even closer, if that is somehow possible. Since there were quite a few situations where you either had to pretend to be in a relationship or had to share small spaces, you became incredibly comfortable with each other. Leaning against one another or touching each other otherwise was not all too uncommon, as was sharing food, fixing each other’s clothing or shopping for things the other needed. Plus, the both of you made an insane amount of memories during that year, some of which are your most precious memories now.

However, your year of traveling ended on a bitter note. As the two of you were out in space, planning the final part of your trip, your glider went out of control and flew you right into an unknown portal which closed after you entered it.

You haven’t seen Eraqus ever since. Your attempts of summoning your Keyblade were fruitless, even though you distinctly remember your Keyblade glider arriving with you. It was as if this world was cut off from everything else.

While it was a beautiful world, it was a terribly empty one. You never found anyone, no matter how much you searched. Seeing as there were no functioning clocks around and no sun ever seemed to fully rise, only enough light present for you to see what was directly in front of you, you couldn’t measure time effectively either. You kept track of how many times you’ve slept, and took that as an indicator. Interestingly enough, you never felt hunger or thirst, but fatigue was still there. It didn’t make much sense to you, and you never even attempted to make any of it – you were only glad it was that way.

In order for you not to go insane, you started to give yourself tasks and to train yourself in hand-to-hand combat. You kept a daily routine, and took care of how you looked. You also tinkered around until you forged something akin to a sword and started to train with that.

As the weeks, months, years started to pass, you eventually became better at forging weaponry. Sharp swords, bows, arrows, lances, shields and many other weapons were now available to you, and you trained with each and every one of them. You entertained yourself with the many books you found, and eventually learned about the world around you. It was fortunate that books were around, or else you knew you would’ve gone insane for sure.

After a few years, you noticed a change. It seemed the world felt sorry for you, otherwise you didn’t know how to explain these little floating portals you began seeing. You couldn’t reach through them, but only touch their surface and see whatever you desired.

Naturally, the first thing you desired to see was where Eraqus was. It was no surprise to you that you saw him teaching two young Keyblade wielders. You wanted to watch them for as long as possible, but these portals seemed to have a mind of their own, appearing and disappearing at random. So, you started to hunt for the portals, just to see how Eraqus was doing.

And Eraqus was doing mostly fine. He was teaching the young Keyblade wielders on his own, although it is more common for several Master to form a school or academy together. The young children seemed like fine children, and you could tell that Eraqus cared greatly about them, even if he was strict with them.

However, something bugged you about seeing Eraqus. Whenever you found a portal, you never saw him looking for you, or even thinking about you. Eraqus had moved on completely. And although you knew you should be happy about that, it also stung a lot. Why didn’t he look for you? Did your friendship mean so little so him? It couldn’t, he’s still wearing the badge you once gifted him, and you see a similar badge on his students as well. But then why is he not looking for you? Did he give up on you? Did he think you died? All these questions plagues you so much, that you eventually had to stop intentionally looking out for portals, and rather let them come to you. If the world sent the first portal to you, it would send others as well if it wanted you to see certain things.

As you checked in once again after probably another three years, you saw Eraqus with three young people, probably his students. It also surprised to see the streaks of grey, scars and wrinkles on him. It confirmed to you that time in this world passed at a similar rate as it did everywhere else, since you started to see the signs of an aging body in yourself.

Through these portals, you followed the journey of Eraqus and his students Terra, Aqua and Ventus. It shocked you how much everything had changed. Eraqus was much more strict than you could ever remember him being, Xehanort had an unhealthy obsession with Darkness and the old tales, and the both of them seemed practically estranged. It was as if someone had taken their worst traits and amped them up to 11. But upon longer observation, you found your old friends within these two men. Eraqus was strict, but he also cared deeply about his students. Xehanort was obsessed with the old Keyblade war, but he didn’t let the Darkness consume him completely.

You would spend hours upon hours in front of a portal, watching as a tragedy unfolded and three innocent lives were caught in the middle of it.

But when you saw Eraqus die in Terra’s arms, you distanced yourself from those portals for an entire year. You mourned the loss of your friend, of the person you loved most, and slowly grew to despise Xehanort, who pushed Terra into that direction.

Eventually, you looked into one of the portals again, and what you saw confused you even more. Ventus was hidden away and comatose, Aqua was trapped in Darkness and Terra had completely changed. It took you a while until you figured out that Xehanort had forced his heart into Terra.

You didn’t check in as much as you once did, but you looked after the three of them once in a while. You busied yourself with your training once again, even though it felt meaningless. It gave you something to do, something to strive for, and it is what kept you going for the moment.

Years passed once again before you noticed a change. Terra split himself into a Heartless and a Nobody, and Aqua saved someone in the Darkness. Through these developments, your attention was turned to new people, new Keyblade wielders. You followed their journey as well, recognizing sometimes much sooner than them were Xehanort had laid out a path for them. Their stories were sometimes heartbreaking, but also heartwarming at certain moments, and filled you with hope for a few days. They inspired you to keep on pushing, to keep on hoping that one day, you would get out of this world.

And then you would hunt Xehanort down and make him pay for all the suffering he caused.

Before long, you saw their journey come towards an end. Sora, the boy who had touched more hearts than you ever thought imaginable, was preparing himself to face Xehanort and his ‘Organization XIII’ with his friends. You followed his battles with all of them, and mourned with Sora as Kairi was taken away from him. You still celebrated when Terra, Aqua and Ventus got reunited, and when Roxas, Sora’s Nobody, Axel and Xion, a puppet originally made to absorb Sora’s memories, reunited as well, but you still mourned the loss of a pure light.

For the next parts of Sora’s battle against Xehanort, you didn’t need any portal. No, because the world quite literally told you that they would bring the battle to you.

The sun rose, illuminating the entire world and showing you how truly beautiful it was. It was the indication of a light coming if you’ve ever seen one, and you wanted to prepare yourself.

You knew Sora had no idea who you were. Your heart wasn’t connected to his, and you were trapped here for several decades as it seems, so how should he? But still, you wanted to be ready and aid him if possible. But you knew you could only help him from the shadows, unless you want Xehanort to see you and eliminate you.

And so, the battle came to the world, and you watched it.

Sora didn’t need your help. Although there were moments where you felt he needed it, Sora always pulled through in the very next moment. So, all you could do was hide and watch the fateful battle play out.

When their battle location switched faster than you could follow them, you fell back to a portal until they were finally staying at a location for longer than two minutes. Even though it was a rather peculiar spot, you knew how to get up there and started your ascension, checking in on Sora from time to time.

It was a difficult battle, but Sora was pulling through. His iron will kept him fighting, gave him the courage to carry on beyond what should’ve been possible. It made you respect Sora a little bit more.

When you finally reach the plateau where Sora and Xehanort fought, the battle was essentially over, with Sora being victorious. At some point, Sora’s friends had arrived as well. You recognized all of them, since you watched their journeys through there portals.

As you stand there, hidden in the shadow behind these young Keyblade wielders, your gaze burning a hole into Xehanort, Terra steps forward. Aqua tries to hold him back, evidently worried, but she eventually lets him go. Terra has to do something.

Terra stops a few meters in front of Xehanort and faces him. You can’t tell what’s going through his mind, but you have a feeling that something surprising might happen soon.

“There’s more to light than meets the eye.” Terra states, and your breath hitches. He almost sounded like Eraqus, and it made your heart wither in pain. You never thought you would hear this sentence again.

Xehanort seems surprised as well, since he remembers Eraqus saying this phrase like you do.

“As I told you.” Although you can’t see it, Terra smiles. However, you wouldn’t really care either, since you’re not sure whether or not your ears have deceived you. Did Terra really just speak as if he were Eraqus? Or… is Eraqus within him?

Xehanort seems to draw the same conclusion as you do, judged by his shocked expression and his silent exclamation of “You sly fox…”

Not a moment later, Terra starts to glow brightly, and a light sphere, a heart, emerges from within him. That heart forms a body made of light as well. To your shock and surprise, Eraqus is now standing in front of you.

Before any sound can leave you, you cover your mouth. Tears start to stream down your face as you see your old enemy, your old friend, your old unrequited love standing there. Aqua and Ventus, on the other hand, gasp audibly and almost lounge forward, but they catch themselves in the last second.

As the first shock wore down, Terra and Eraqus start to speak simultaneously, Terra still bound a bit to his Master. It does take a while for a heart to be completely separated from the other.

“Now, hand over the χ-blade, Xehanort.”

You can barely hear what they’re saying, your emotions too much of a whirlwind within you. Why didn’t Eraqus try to reach out to you before any of this happened? Is that the reason why Terra always seemed to gravitate towards you, why he seemed to know you? Because Eraqus sealed his heart within him?

You do register that Eraqus and Xehanort are talking, that Eraqus looks back to Sora and Riku, and that Xehanort raises the χ-blade against Eraqus, even though he doesn’t attack him. But you can’t make out what they’re saying, and you don’t really care either. You’re too busy staring at Eraqus, and trying to sort out your head since all sorts of pent-up emotions are crashing down on you now.

You’re angry, hurt and confused. You want to run up to Eraqus and embrace him, but at the same time you want to yell at him and slap him for leaving you out of everything, since as far as you saw, he never even tried to contact you. Did your friendship mean nothing? Were you less to him than Xehanort? It stung to think of that.

Your eyes follow Eraqus as he walks up to Xehanort and gently takes the χ-blade out of his hand, declaring that it is enough and that he put Xehanort in checkmate.

Xehanort, now utterly defeated, hands the χ-blade over to Sora, who accepts it. Looking at Sora’s face, you can’t get a read on what’s going on inside his head. Well, you can’t see his face very well either, since you’re desperately trying to dry the tears on your face.

Eraqus then turns to face Terra, Ventus and Aqua, and asks them for forgiveness. Naturally, the three forgive him, and Ven runs up first to embrace him. Aqua follows swiftly, while Terra doesn’t dare to hug his Master, his surrogate father, at first. But it doesn’t take long before he can’t hold back either and hugs his Master as well.

Eraqus then continues to apologize to Ventus and Aqua, who both cry rather silently. Terra is tasked with looking after them for Eraqus, but to you it feels like an apology is missing. Maybe he apologized at an earlier time, one you didn’t witness.

After this heartfelt scene, during which you shed a few more tears, they all separated. Ventus and Aqua cleaned their faces and regained their postures.

Xehanort turned away slightly, and tried to walk away, which caught your attention. It was evident that Xehanort was weak now, barely able to support himself. He was nothing but a shadow of the strong trainee you remember, an old man who has a crumbling body.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Eraqus hurry to Xehanort’s side, catching the latter before he could fall down. Eraqus puts Xehanort’s arm over his shoulders, supporting him like he did when you all were younger.

“Ready, my friend?” Eraqus asks Xehanort, to which the latter answers with a simple “Yes.”

“Eraqus!”

Your body acts on its own, knowing this would be your last chance. This was the end of the road, and you couldn’t bear losing them – him – once again.

You stepped out of the shadows and rushed to your former fellow trainees, your former friends, your former unrequited love. Everyone seemed surprised to see you here, some leaving out shocked gasps, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was reaching them before it was too late.

Eraqus called your name, surprise evident in his voice, and Xehanort acknowledged your presence as well, as you came to a staggering halt in front of the two of them. The tears were streaming down your face freely once again, and you didn’t care. Let them see you cry, it doesn’t matter anyways.

You struggled with your voice since it has been so long since you used it, trying to smooth it out somehow, but in the end, you gave up and let it sound as rough as it truly was.

“Why? Why did you leave me behind?” “I-“ “Am I no one to you? Was I not your fellow trainee? Was I not a fellow Keyblade wielder, a fellow Keyblade Master? Were we not friends? Did we not travel worlds together after our Mark of Mastery? Did we not promise to always be friends, until the bitter end?” Your hand reaches up, clasping the pendant on the necklace hidden beneath your top. It is the same symbol Eraqus, Terra, Aqua and Ventus all wear on their clothing. It was designed by you, many years ago, and Eraqus had taken a liking to it. The badge he is wearing was even a gift from you. “Why did you pass on my symbol to your students if I meant nothing to you? Why keep a piece of me alive when you didn’t even bother to reach out to me, to search for me? Why mock me that way? What have I done to you to deserve this?” Aqua, Ventus and Terra all touch their respective badges, recognizing it as the same you’re wearing and wondering why they never heard of you. Truth is, they heard many stories of you from Eraqus. Eraqus just never was able to tell them your name, since your disappearance hurt him too much.

Your shoulders are shaking and your throat is hurting from the yelling, but you refuse to look away or tone down otherwise. You need answers to these questions which had been tormenting you. You need closure.

“Is it because I disappeared all these years ago? Is it because I was stranded here, stuck in this world without a way to communicate with anything outside of it? Is that why you forgot about me? Is that why you didn’t come look for me? I was trapped in this world for decades, my only window outside being portals sent by this world, and never have I seen you look for me, think of me or even speak of me! Am I… Am I so not important to you?” At the end, your voice is nothing but a whisper as you voice your doubts, questions and concerns. Looking up to Eraqus, you wait for his answer.

Eraqus’ hand reaches out to you, cupping your cheek and wiping away tears. It’s a familiar gesture to you, since you and Eraqus grew close enough for the both of you to do such things. Only now do you notice that he’s crying as well, but instead of looking hurt or sad, he seems happy.

“I have never stopped looking for you, my dearest friend. I hoped every second of the day that you would find your way back to me, and train new Keyblade wielders together with me. And now, when I just wished to see you for one final time, Destiny allows me to see you, the person I cherish most.” Eraqus’ voice is quivering and soft, his lips trembling, his facial expressions overcome with relief. Terra, Ventus and Aqua have never seen their Master so emotional, and it makes them want to know more about you.

Still crying, you lift your other hand and cover Eraqus’ hand, keeping it close to you and squeezing it gently. His words heal your scarred heart, assuring you that he had not forgotten you or abandoned you. That he still saw you as a friend, and that he saw you as even more than a friend. His ‘training new Keyblade wielders together’ would be as close to a confession as you’ll ever get from him, and it was more than enough for you, since you knew that Eraqus had always hoped of becoming a teacher at one point. Him wanting you by his side was the sweetest salve on your wounds.

“I missed you, Eraqus.” You whimper, but now with a bright smile on your face. Eraqus chuckles, and carefully interwinds his hand with yours, gently pulling you towards him. You don’t waste any time and wrap your arms around Eraqus’ middle, and you can feel him hug you back with his available arm.

“I missed you too, lightfoot.”, Eraqus whispers to you softly, and for a moment, the world is as close to perfection as it can.

After a few seconds, you reach out and grab Xehanort by his arm, pulling him closer. The older man lets out a pretty funny sound of confusion, especially as you include him in your hug with Eraqus.

“Come here, you madman. I missed even you, Xeha.”

You smile up to him, a bit mad that he is still taller than you. Xehanort gives you a confused look at first, before he starts to laugh. It’s not a laugh of mockery, but a laugh of relief.

Eraqus and you join in, and soon enough, the three of you start to glow brightly. As the light glow dims once again, the three of you are standing there, but this time you’re much younger. You pose has changed a bit as well, since now Eraqus has his arm around your waist and you around his. Xehanort’s hand is touching your shoulder, and your free hand is atop of his, connecting you to Xehanort as well. The three of you look at each other, and with a smile, your bodies disintegrate into light, your hearts floating away.

You all can finally be together again.


	2. After a long time - Alternative End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoi zäme!  
> Important: this really just is the alternative end, and can't be read on it's own. Please read the previous chapter up until the last bigger paragraph, and then switch over to this chapter.  
> Hope you'll enjoy!

Eraqus and you join in, and soon enough, both of them start to glow brightly. Even as the light becomes almost too strong to bear for you, you hold on to both of them, although your hold on Eraqus is a bit tighter. As the light dims once again, you take a step back and see a younger Eraqus and Xehanort. The both of them smile at each other, and then turn their eyes to you. Almost simultaneously, both of them gift you a bright smile and wave you good-bye. Through tears welling up in your eyes you smile back at them and wave them good-bye as well. Not a moment later, the both of them glow brightly and their bodies disintegrate into light, their hearts floating away.

The silence following is almost deafening, since no one dares to say anything. The young Keyblade wielders are most likely in shock, since none of them have any idea who you are or why you are here. And although the grief you are feeling at losing Eraqus once again is almost overwhelming, you keep yourself in check and don’t break down right where you are.

Instead, you lift your dominant hand and call your Keyblade with all your heart.

To your immense surprise and the shock of everyone present, the χ-blade leaves Sora’s hand and appears in your hand instead. You almost drop it, but catch yourself last second.

Why did the χ-blade come to you? You didn’t want it. It brought so much agony and pain unto so many people you didn’t want to touch it at all. And yet, it came to you.

Maybe you’re meant to clean up the mess Xehanort left behind and close Kingdom Hearts for good.

Everyone behind you is holding their breath, watching you carefully.

You weigh your options, and make a decision.

Maybe you are meant to clean up the mess Xehanort left behind. But it’s better if Sora does it.

So, you turn around and walk up to Sora, giving him a gentle smile.

“Hello, Sora.” You greet him, which causes the poor boy to give you a confused look, while Riku and Donald give you a sceptic look. Ignoring them for the most part, you hold the handle of the χ-blade out to Sora. “I believe the χ-blade is a bit confused. You should be the one to end it all and to close Kingdom Hearts, not me. After all, you fought against Xehanort and defeated him.”

Cautiously eyeing you, Sora nods and takes the χ-blade. As soon as you’re sure he has a good grip on it, you step to the side, making room for Sora. But before Sora does anything, he looks over to you.

“Who are you? And why do you know my name?” He asks, and judging by the looks of the others, he’s voicing the questions several of them have.

“I am, much like Eraqus and Xehanort, a Keyblade Master. I trained alongside the both of them, many years ago. And the reason I know your name is because I have been following your journey’s through portals which this world gifted to me. But enough with the chit-chat, or else it really will be too late.”

Sora nods hastily and focuses on the task at hand again. But instead of just raising the χ-blade, he first asks for the help of everyone. He glances in your direction as he does so, and you give him a gentle smile while nodding softly, assuring him you would support him as well.

Finally, Sora closes Kingdom Hearts with the aid of everyone present.

 

* * *

 

The entire group, you included, found themselves in a wasteland after Sora closed Kingdom Hearts. You took in your new surroundings, not attentively listening to what the others were talking about. You’re finally… free. After decades of being trapped in one single world, you are finally free and it felt absolutely wonderful.

Turning your attention back to the group, you quickly realized what they were talking about. Sora wanted to go save Kairi, whom Xehanort had taken from him, on his own. You knew solo-missions were dangerous, and this seemed to be an especially dangerous one if you could judge by the adventures Sora went through to save Kairi. But you have an inkling that Sora would do it no matter what, so all you can do is support him.

Riku and Mickey – although rather King Mickey, if you remember correctly – come to the same conclusion as you do, and eventually support him as well. Before Sora can take off, you call out to him, surprising him.

“The journey you’ll go on will be entirely different from your previous ones, so allow me to give you a little aid.” You take out two small clip-ons of the badge Eraqus, Terra, Ventus and Aqua are wearing and offer it to Sora. He accepts them and inspects them, clearly curious why you would give them to him.

“These are special ones. They have a charm on them which will protect your heart no matter what, and keep it safe against any types of danger. With these on, your heart will never be forced into or overpowered by Darkness. However, if dealt enough damage, one of them can break, which is why I give you two. Normally I would tell you to imagine them as a last-defense-layer underneath your Keyblade armor, but seeing as you don’t have yours with you, see them as your normal last defense. Oh, and don’t worry, you don’t need to clip them on – having them in your pockets will already protect you.”

Sora listens with interest, and gives you a big grin when you’re done with explaining.

“Wow, these are really cool! Thank you, and even though it’s a bit late, welcome back.”

After that short interaction, Sora takes off, and as he’s disappearing, you softly whisper “May your heart guide you safely.”, a phrase one of your favorite Masters always said.

As soon as Sora departed, the remaining people turn their attention to you, which makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable. So, you decide to break the ice a bit.

“You don’t need to tip-toe around me. I can practically hear the questions screaming in your head, and you’re more than welcome to ask them.”

As Ventus opens his mouth to speak, Aqua interrupts him.

“I think first priority is to leave this place. Then, we can talk about everything.” “Agreed, but where should we all go? Can’t go to any of our places, or else we’ll first have to deal with other people. We need a neutral place.” Axel, a man you know to be full of fiery sarcasm to hide his emotions, asks a rather obvious question. You can’t blame him, since everything that has happened is probably a bit too much to handle at once and his brain must be doing the basics.

“Why not go to Yen Sid’s tower? We need to tell him of everything that has happened anyways!” Goofy, a companion of Sora’s and King Mickey’s loyal guardsman suggests, and everyone agrees with him.

Curious to see whether or not you’ll be able to do it now, you try to summon your Keyblade as the group is discussing seating arrangements. When for the first few seconds nothing happens, you want to give up on it, but then you can hear the faint humming of a Keyblade summoning.

And finally, after decades of not seeing your precious Keyblade, you are holding it in your dominant hand once again. It’s a bit different from the last time you saw it, but to you, it’s still one of the most beautiful Keyblades you have ever seen.

As the others are still discussing, you quickly activate your Keyblade armor and transform your Keyblade into a Keyblade glider. Seeing your glider immediately gives you a sense of nostalgia and fear, but you ignore these emotions and get on your glider.

Unbeknownst to you, the others had been watching you, some fascinated with what you were able to do with a Keyblade. Roxas and Xion exchanged looks, silently wondering whether or not they could do something like that too.

“I’m ready to take off whenever you are.” You announce casually, and the group just nods. Aqua, Terra and Ventus mimic you in activating their Keyblade armor and calling their Keyblade gliders, while the others all just cram into the Gumi Jet.

With a portal opened by you – goodness, it felt so _good_ to finally be able to open a portal once again! – you all left the wastelands and traveled quickly to Yen Sid’s mysterious tower. As you’re zooming through the vastness of space, you can’t help but perform a few tricks, simply overjoyed that you are free once again.

Arriving at Yen Sid’s tower, you dismiss your armor and your glider, as do the other three. The rest of the group needs a moment longer to reassemble, since they really did have to cram into the Gumi Jet.

You waste no time in climbing the flights of stairs, arriving at the top before the others do. However, as you’re about to open the door, you hesitate for a second. Would Yen Sid even remember you? Deciding it doesn’t really matter, you push open the door and walk into the room behind it confidently.

The entire room – even the entire tower – just scream _Yen Sid_ for you. Everything was a bit odd, a bit bizarre, but still nice. It was good to see that some things hadn’t changed at all.

As Yen Sid looks up from the book he was reading and sees you, he freezes in the middle of turning a page. You smile at him, taking a few steps towards him. For a few seconds, neither of you say anything.

Then finally, Yen Sid whispers your name in disbelief. Your smile morphs into a grin. “Hello, Yen. It has been terribly long, hasn’t it? You look well.”

Slowly, Yen stands up and walks around the table, until he is standing right in front of you. His eyes are darting all over you, to check whether or not it really is you. You chuckle at him.

“Breathe, Yen. Your body will collapse if you don’t. I am real, I am back, and I’m here to stay.” “Eraqus told me you had vanished as you were traveling together. He, we believed you were dead. Where have you been all these years?” Yen’s voice clearly showed his surprise, and the relief he seemed to feel. It caught you a bit off guard, since you didn’t think that Yen really cared about you all that much. After all, the two of you weren’t close friends. “Oh, that’s a rather funny story which I can later on tell everyone, since I’m the new curiosity now. But I believe they should first make their report to you, Master Yen Sid.” You nod your head into the direction of the group behind you and take a step to the side, allowing them to step closer and report everything to Yen.

After that was done, you finally got around to telling your story. The questions asked were about the entirety of your life, not only your forced exile, and so you basically told the story of your life since you became a Keyblade trainee. Ventus, Aqua and Terra listened the most attentively, since you sprinkled in some small stories of Eraqus, Xehanort and sometimes even Yen Sid as well.

You spent the entire afternoon talking, confirming and denying, until it was late in the evening. When you finally came to an end, when you finally answered all the questions as best as you could, it was time to take off once again. And even though you wanted to ask Yen Sid for a place for one night or try your luck in other worlds, Terra surprised you by offering you to come with them.

Apparently, Aqua planned on taking in young Keyblade wielders, while Terra and Ventus both wanted to take the Mark of Mastery. They thought that with your knowledge and experience you could help them as well, and test the two young man on their Mark of Mastery.

Of course, you gladly accepted. You would need to train yourself in Keyblade combat up to shape once again, but you knew you would be able to do it. Your body might have aged, but it didn’t age as much as Eraqus and Xehanort did.

In the end, you were training Keyblade wielders where Eraqus has once been training them. And even though you know Eraqus isn’t here anymore, it still feels like you’re training them together with him. And it’s making you happy.

Finally, after all those years, you are happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that.  
> I'm done - good night!
> 
> Tschüss!

**Author's Note:**

> And here, ladies and gentleman, we have the first ending!  
> Yeah, I had this really great idea for another ending and couldn't decide between the two, so I just wrote both.  
> The second one it a bit rough, but I'll post it already. It might change a bit in the future, just in case anyone comes back and thinks "Wait, what happened?"  
> Anyway, I'm dead tired.
> 
> Tschüss!


End file.
